Miami Baseball Ranks No. 24 in Baseball America Poll
Jan. 27, 2011
Durham, N.C. – The Baseball America Preseason Top 25 Poll was released on Thursday, and the University of Miami ranks No. 24 in the first edition from the home office in Durham, N.C. The `Canes ended the 2010 season ranked No. 15 in the final Baseball America Top 25 Poll.
Under the direction of head coach Jim Morris, set to embark upon his 18th year at the helm in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes are now ranked in three preseason polls, including a No. 18 position in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. UM is No. 24 in the Collegiate Baseball Lineup Preseason Top 25.
Four Atlantic Coast Conference teams are ranked among Baseball America’s Preseason Top 25, led by 2010 College World Series participants Clemson and Florida State.
ACC teams open their seasons Feb. 18 and conclude regular-season play May 21. The ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 25-29 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. A conference-record eight ACC teams earned spots in the NCAA Tournament field last season.
Miami will begin the 2011 season playing host to Rutgers at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables for a three-game series beginning Fri., Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. In fact, the `Canes open the season with six of their first seven games at home, and 12 of the first 17 overall. The Hurricanes will play 56 games in 2011. UM will play 34 games inside Alex Rodriguez Park, while playing a total of 40 games in Florida.
In 2010, the Hurricanes posted a record of 43-20, and won the NCAA Coral Gables Regional after making their NCAA-record 38th consecutive trip to the baseball field of 64. Defeating teams from Texas A&M and Dartmouth, the `Canes advanced to the NCAA Super Regional in Gainesville, Fla.
Miami returns 18 letterwinners from last year’s NCAA Super Regional squad, and 14 newcomers combine for the 32-man roster. Returning for the Hurricanes this season is five of the team’s eight top performers at the plate from 2010.
Senior outfielder Chris Pelaez is the leading batter returning from 2010 where he registered a .314 average – second overall on the team, as well as junior outfielder Nathan Melendres, who finished the year batting .301. Junior third baseman Harold Martinez led the team in homeruns (21) and finished third in hits (71). Sophomores Stephen Perez and Zeke DeVoss are also back for the `Canes, each posting a team-high tying 24 stolen bases in their rookie campaign.
Pitchers Daniel Miranda and Eric Whaley are two members of the pitching staff that will be relied upon this year, while Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American E.J. Encinosa should be counted on heavily in the rotation as well.
For ticket information for the 2011 baseball season, call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit Hurricanesports.com.
For more information on the University of Miami baseball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes baseball program. To follow the UM Baseball Team via twitter, please navigate to Twitter.com/CanesBaseball.
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